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Putin Wants Greater Biotech Role

Russia wants to have a 5 percent share in the global biotech market by 2020, a senior official said Friday after a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“The new wave of global technological development will be linked to biotechnologies and new materials unlike the previous wave linked to information and computer technology,” Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told reporters.

The government approved on Friday 25 so-called “technology platforms,” modeled on their European equivalents, which will provide framework and coordination for research and funding. Three of the platforms are linked to biotech.

(Via The Moscow Times)

Investigators to Question Top Prosecutor’s Son in Gambling Case

The Investigative Committee said Wednesday that it would question the son of Prosecutor General Yury Chaika in connection with an illegal gambling case, significantly raising the stakes in an ongoing turf war between investigators and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

A lawyer for the ring’s suspected mastermind, Ivan Nazarov, denied that his client had any ties to Artyom Chaika. The main suspect, Nazarov, is in custody, and investigators have accused several local prosecutors, including the Moscow region‘s chief prosecutor, Alexander Mokhov, of allowing the gambling ring to operate in exchange for free trips abroad and other gifts.

(Via Moscow Times)

(Related News stories)

Chaika‘s Son Sought in Gambling Inquiry

31 March 2011

By Alexey Eremenko / The Moscow Times

… with an illegal gambling case, significantly raising the stakes in an ongoing turf war between investigators and the Prosecutor General’s Office. The Investigative Committee said Wednesday that it would question the son of Prosecutor General Yury Chaika in connection with an illegal gambling case, significantly raising the stakes in an ongoing turf war between investigators and the Prosecutor General’s Office. A spokesman for the Investigative Committee said Artyom Chaika would be questioned “soon”…

Chaika Plans Dismissals in Turf War

30 March 2011

The Moscow Times

Prosecutor General Yury Chaika plans to fire Moscow region prosecutors accused of having ties to illegal gambling business, Kommersant reported Tuesday. Prosecutor General Yury Chaika plans to fire Moscow region prosecutors accused of having ties to illegal…

Medvedev Toughens Stance on Graft

29 March 2011

By Nabi Abdullaev / The Moscow Times

… said the percentage of his orders being implemented is close to the highs seen under Josef Stalin and that Medvedev is far ahead of his tough-talking predecessor, Vladimir Putin, in his early years in power. Medvedev ordered Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to draft legislation to assist prosecutors in their checks of officials’ income declarations. “Prepare the legal amendments. I am ready to support them in order to make the checks more clear and effective,” Medvedev said in response to…

Medvedev Intervenes in 2 Agencies’ Turf War

4 April 2011

The Moscow Times

… Kommersant reported Friday. The Thursday meeting was linked to the committee’s probe into an illegal gambling ring in the Moscow region that investigators claim operated under the protection of prosecutors, the report said. Prosecutor General Yury Chaikarequested the talks after investigators announced plans to question his son Artyom over the case, the report said. Neither the Kremlin nor the law enforcement agencies have commented on the meeting. Medvedev warned the parties not to go public…

Gambling Suspect Caught in Turf War Appeals to Kremlin

29 March 2011

The Moscow Times

… week, saying it found no evidence that Nazarov financed prosecutors’ trips. It dismissed other related accusations as well, and closed several cases against its officials and a Nazarov aide. The Investigative Committee will ask Prosecutor General Yury Chaika to reopen these cases and related criminal inquiries into top prosecutors from Moscow region towns of Noginsk and Klin also linked to Nazarov, committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Interfax on Saturday. Chaika‘s agency also closed eight criminal…

Energy efficiency becoming promising area for investment in Russia

President Dmitry Medvedev has made energy efficiency a plank of his modernization platform. In 2008 he set a target to reduce Russia’s energy intensity by 40 percent by 2020.

And the Energy Efficiency Program to 2020, approved by the government last October, set aside 9.5 trillion rubles ($3 billion) for energy saving programs.

“In Russia we are totally focused on energy saving,” he told The Moscow Times.

Honeywell is only one of many foreign companies seeking a slice of the energy efficiency pie.

Currently, average efficiency for a gas turbine is about 35 to 38 percent, while average for a combined-cycle turbine is 55 to 56 percent. Alstrom’s range of turbines includes a simple-cycle turbine with 38.1 percent efficiency and a combined-cycle turbine with 58.3 percent. The McKinsey & Company report projected that Russia could save $486 billion over the next 20 years and reduce energy consumption by 23 percent if it plowed $210.8 billion of investment into maximizing efficiency.

(Via The Moscow Times)